Pastel Palette
 

Dear Willow,

If asked to define a pastel palette, I think most pastellists would smile for a couple of reasons. First, the question, "What's on your palette?" is the same question as "How big is your bank account?"

Since pastel can't be mixed in the same way as liquid paint, color results happen one of three ways: direct application of the desired color; layering of colors, or the use of broken color to create optical mixing.(Therefore, you needs LOTS of sticks.) So the number of sticks you actualy own might best be thought of as an inventory, from which you pull a subset, a working palette for a given painting. For me, it makes more sense to think of resulting colors, that work well within a given harmony...and one of the reasons I like to think through color harmony before I ever start a painting.

For someone new to pastel, I usually recommend starting with a standard (portrait or landscape)set of approximately 48 colors, supplemented with darks, either hand-picked or purchased as a set. Most major manufactureres now offer darks, as a set of 12-18 sticks or so.

It's important to have a full range of values, as well as a full range of hues, and both warm and cool temperature versions of each hue. If you have the chance to hand pick your darks, you can take the opportunity to sample several different manufacturers,and get a feel for the characteristics of each, as they are VERY different. Then you can add to your inventory with different sticks depending upon what you like, and how you will use them. If you are still feeling a little flush, go for the big set of NuPastels.

Some number of years ago I took Doug Dawson's workshop, and he has a wonderful approach to a limited pastel palette: pick 3 sticks, one dark, one medium and one light in value, each in a different hue. The only caveat is that the three of them should look beautiful together. Then take the painting as far as possible before adding a fourth stick, and so forth. For those of you who know Doug's work, it is hard to find richer, more beautiful harmonious color anywhere. (Also see his excellent book, "Capturing Light & Color with Pastel", by North Light Books)

The other thing that makes us pastel painters laugh, by the way, is that even if you have a thousand sticks, you can be sure you will never have EXACTLY the right color.

Kindest regards,
Chris

Thanks
 

Hi Chris,

I went to the store this weekend with the intention (nay, the LIMIT) of buying 15 sticks, just some "basic ones" to get me started, you know. Well, 50 sticks later I went home to start painting only to discover that I didn't have all the colors I needed! Ha! lesson learned - need bigger bank account! ;)

Thanks for your input.

Cheers,
Willow

Hi Willow,

I noticed that Wende Caporale's pastel palette is noted in February 2002 Artist's Magazine...she shows a core group of 54 colors out of an inventory of 800 or so sticks. She describes the color in sensible terms, (like Alizarin crimson, instead of #377B or A-78 or Ruby Red) so it should be easy to use her terms and swatches to find the colors if you so choose.

Chris

You refer to "palette" as your inventory. True. In painting, we think of a palette as a board upon which we mix colors. Sometimes my palette is actually my hand.

I use soft pastel. Have you ever tried using Flexible Fabric Bandaids on your fingertips, and use them as a blender? I sometimes apply the pastel to the bandaid then to the drawing, as indirect application. Other times, I apply directly a heavy load of color and use the fabric bandaid as a blender. It is an innovation that completely changed my style.

Pastels... the hard core guys
 

Make their own.

I got a sample box from Terry Ludwig who began making his own sticks out of frustration and joy of the craft. I mentioned how hard it is to find nice darks and he mixed me up such a wonderful set!! He even included a medium for whitening the ones I like by grinding them up and adding the white glop for a lighter value stick.

I am trying very hard to incorporate soft pastels into my work, but I feel very timid. I am a hard nupastel and Holbein fan. I think the very reason is that by using less I can blend more. The limited palettes of the two sets I use, make me create by blending. When I used softer sticks, it was more of that picking just the right one among hundreds to fill up the paper texture and leave it. Soft pastels are not subtle to my way of thinking!

Debra,

I use soft exclusively, but I finish with Conte Paris pastel pencils. Of course, my work is all geared for speed. 20 minutes max from a live model who could be a two year old child or a puppy! I make use of the smooth white 60 lb paper to give me the capability to smear and blend colors. I will splash heavy colors all over the place leaving a lot of white paper between. Then with the flexible fabric bandaid on the fingertip trick magically blend the colors into entirely new ones. It comes out as a watercolor-like wash.

But then, I have the clock as my master. If I had time, I might use hard and oil pastels as well.

Lon

Okay, herein lies my confusion. The size of your palette in pastels vs. the use of cool/warm shadows. By this I mean, do you make a shadow purple/green based on temp of lighting or do you pick the darker version of the "local" color of skin color?

So if I am using RE 14 (general flesh in Unicolor) should I use a purple/green for shadows or RE 19? They are providing us the full palette, but should we use them? Please ask me to clarify if this question doesn't make sense to you - it has been a quest for understanding for me.

Side note - Lon I wish you could start a thread about your courtroom drawing - I often wonder if folks here know of your special talent? I think I told you how much I loved the class I took in an actual court setting - I loved catching the drama!

Shadow color is always a function of several elements: first, the local color; second, the temperature of the light (opposite) and third, the color of influencing adjacent reflected color, when applicable. Shadow color is never a darker version of local color, just as color in light is never just a lighter value of local color.

I can't really speak to the specific Unison colors, as I rip my little papers off the sticks as soon as I use them. The difficulty I expect that you are having, Beth, is working from a photo resource - which will not give you true color, especially in shadow; it would be much easier to judge if you were looking at the actual object under the light you will actually use in the painting.

Wende Caporale's pastel palette
 

Hi,

Chris Saper mentioned an article by Wende Caporale containing her 54 colours. I started collecting the Artist's magazine in March 2002 so missed it. Does anyone have details of that article they could mail me?

Holly, did you get your palette sorted out in the end, and which brand did you choose?

Regards,
Geraldine

How Big is Your Bank Account!
 

I had to giggle when Chris said that!

I was fortunate enough to sell enough of my pastels to buy most every set I could lay my hands on!

I find skintones are so ornery to paint that I cannot find any particular colors that work every time, even with slight modifications. There are ivory, tan,black, pink etc. all changed by the environment that they are in, indoor,outdoor, sunlight and haze.

What I did do was to buy some very good pastel organizers from Dakota Pastels and organize them by manufacturer and color groups. I numbered each individual pastel and color group. I also bought their handmade color charts and put them in a loose leaf binder. DAYS OF WORK! But now if I need a particular color I can look it up in the charts or go to the say, blue green section of one of my pastel sets.

Daniel Greene in his book "Pastel" (unfortunately out of print) recommends this procedure.

I have Great Americans, Unisons, Schminkes, Giraults, Senneliers, Mt. Visions and Nu Pastels. And don't you know , there were a couple of colors I couln't find today!